Loading...
Torsade de pointes is a particular ventricular tachycardia that is associated with prolonged QT intervals; it often occurs in patients given antiarrhythmic drugs. The standard treatment is designed to shorten the QT interval by accelerating the heart rate with isoproterenol or cardiac pacing; however, such interventions may be risky in patients with ischemic disease.
This encouraging study reports that 9 of 12 patients with torsade had quick and complication-free responses to a bolus of 2 g of magnesium sulfate given intravenously. All 12 patients had normal magnesium levels at the time of treatment, but potassium levels were low in eight. (The treatment was not effective in a small group of patients with polymorphous ventricular tachycardia…